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End Not Proven
Two weeks ago we launched our Holyrood asks: 6 actions we want candidates and parties to commit to that would improve the landscape for survivors of sexual violence in Scotland.
All of these asks are critical – but today we want to talk about just one: End Not Proven.
Uniquely, Scotland has three verdicts – Guilty, Not Guilty and Not Proven. Not Guilty and Not Proven have the same impact – they are both acquittals, and there are no legal consequences for the accused if they get a Not Proven verdict.
But why does it need to go?
Firstly, the Not Proven verdict is used disproportionately in rape and attempted rape cases. In 2018/19 40% of acquittals in rape and attempted rape cases were Not Proven, compared with 19% of all crimes and offences.
2.8 wasted years and grief that I will carry forever
The end result was the Not Proven verdict.
[Photo by Aricka Lewis on Unsplash]
When I left the court room after the closing statements the only real update I could give to my friends and family is that if the man who did this did not end up in jail then really, no victims of sexual assault stand any sort of a chance in the justice system - and that means we continue to live in a broken society where sexual assault continues to be rife. I knew the chance of conviction was low but it was none the less traumatising to witness and experience first hand the level of impunity.
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